1106792

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ROPXXX10.1177/0734371X221106792Review of Public Personnel AdministrationZahari and Kaliannan

Article
Review of Public Personnel Administration

Antecedents of Work
2023, Vol. 43(3) 557­–582
© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/0734371X221106792
https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X221106792

Literature Review journals.sagepub.com/home/rop

Norfadhillaton Zahari1
and Maniam Kaliannan1

Abstract
This article systematically reviewed the body of literature concerning work
engagement in public organizations, aiming to examine the antecedents of work
engagement in the public sector. Web of Science and Scopus, two prominent journal
databases, were utilized to identify relevant literature. Adopting the Preferred
Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach, a
final of 48 articles were systematically analyzed as research samples. The review
identified five main themes: organizational and team factors, perceived leadership,
job-related experience, individual, and organizational intervention factors. Generally,
most studies reviewed emphasized individual and job-design-related factors as
antecedents of work engagement in the public sector. Only minimal emphasis has
been placed on organizational intervention compared to the other factors. This
study also found that most literature addressed a single or a few themes of work
engagement antecedents instead of a comprehensive work engagement model
comprising all related aspects. This systematic review ends with directions for future
studies to aid future scholars.

Keywords
systematic review, work engagement, employee engagement, antecedent, public
sector

1
University of Nottingham—Malaysia Campus, Semenyih, Malaysia

Corresponding Author:
Norfadhillaton Zahari, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga, Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan,
43500, Malaysia.
Email: [email protected]
558 Review of Public Personnel Administration 43(3)

Introduction
Recent years saw a rise of interest toward the concept of work engagement among
research and practitioners due to its significant impact on organizational performance
(Bakker & Demerouti, 2008; Macey & Schneider, 2008; Shuck et al., 2011). The con-
cept emerged around 30 years ago when Kahn (1990) published the first paper on “per-
sonal engagement” and argued employees chose to invest themselves entirely in their
roles based on their working experiences. Later, Maslach and Leiter (1997) reintro-
duced the concept of work engagement as an energetic state at work that opposed burn-
out. Engaged employees are seen as more energetic and they view work as a challenge;
this is different from employees who are burnout, where they are stressed and view
work as demanding. Thus, the work engagement concept rose to prominence, leading
to a vast range of definitions, concepts, measurements, and engagement theories
(Macey & Schneider 2008).
Existing studies stipulate that employees who are engaged tend to be more proac-
tive, committed, dedicated, and strive toward achieving organizational goals.
Schaufeli et al. (2002) defined an engaged employee as one with a positive and ful-
filled work-related state of mind, characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption.
These employees have been proven to be highly proactive, committed, and dedicated
than their less engaged or disengaged counterparts. Other terms used interchangeably
with work engagement in the current literature are employee engagement and job
engagement. Although there are slight differences between the concept of work
engagement and employee engagement, however, based on the findings, researchers
in this field used both terms interchangeably in their studies and majority used the
same instrument to measure the construct. The job demands-resources (JD-R) model
forms the theoretical foundations of the work engagement construct (Bakker &
Demerouti, 2008), distinguishing between two major areas of job characteristics: job
demands and job resources. JD-R asserts that all jobs, regardless of being in public or
private organizations, have demands and resources. Job demands such as work over-
load, job insecurity, role ambiguity, work pressure, and role conflict are all job char-
acteristics that may cause strain. High job demands impair work engagement due to
mental stress, emotional, and physical fatigue and may become job stressors when
meeting the required demand, and sustaining a projected level of performance takes
a lot of significant effort. On the other hand, job resources refer to working conditions
that provide resources and support for employees, such as salary, career opportuni-
ties, job security, feedback, role clarity, and decision-making participation. Job
resources reduce job demands and related physiological and psychological costs,
functioning toward achieving work goals and stimulating personal growth, learning,
and development (Demerouti et al., 2001). All these factors will increase work
engagement by building both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Due to JD-R cover-
ing all the job aspects to improve work performance, the theory has been vastly used
to identify antecedents of work engagement in organizations in many studies.
Furthermore, empirical studies are required to comprehend if employee work engage-
ment is affected by the interaction of alternative demands and resources (Cooke et al.,
Zahari and Kaliannan 559

2019). Hence, identifying antecedents of work engagement is recommended since it

is specific to the job, organization, or group (Saks, 2006).
Work engagement as a concept is paramount to the public sector. Increasing engage-
ment and productivity among public servants is crucial because government agencies
are the center of responding to many crises (Worldbank, 2020). Although many studies
on work engagement have been published related to its antecedents and the positive
outcomes it brings to organizations, only a few studies were conducted within the
public sector context, and literature on work engagement within the public sector is
still limited (Vigoda-Gadot et al., 2013). Therefore, sound knowledge in this field
remains inadequate. Scopus and Web of Science database search also revealed a dearth
of studies on antecedents of public sector work engagement despite the importance of
the public sector performance in economic growth.
The efforts to systematically review work engagement studies remain scarce though
engagement is an important topic. Fletcher et al. (2020) state none of the recent reviews
and meta-analyses on work engagement specifically explore work engagement within
a sectoral framework. Robinson et al. (2004) argue that despite similar engagement
drivers between organizations, levels of engagement might vary depending on demo-
graphic and job-related factors. Therefore, organizations from all sectors, whether pri-
vate or public, should identify factors that could enhance employees’ work engagement
in order to achieve their organizational goals.
Borst et al. (2019), in their recent meta-analysis, found the correlations between
work engagement and other job-related attitudes are higher for public sector employ-
ees than private-sector employees. Hence, there is a compelling need to narrow said
gaps to gain more understanding of work engagement in the public sector. A compre-
hensive assessment of the factors that influence work engagement will add to the body
of knowledge of work engagement studies. In order to gain a clear grasp of work
engagement within government organizations, researchers, and practitioners must
identify more work engagement antecedents at work.
Hence, this systematic literature review examines some of the most recent work
engagement studies related to the public sector. The definition of public sector varies
between countries. In this article, the term public sector refers to organizations owned
and operated by the government, including federal, state, or local government and
semi-government organizations that aim to serve the citizens’ needs. Public sector
agencies provide services to the public include health care, national defense, educa-
tion, and water management. Organizations in the public sector, like those in the non-
profit sector, do not attempt to make a profit.
Systematic search evidence in this study focuses on the following questions:

(i) What are the recent findings of antecedents of public sector employee work
engagement?

To answer the research question, firstly, we identify the findings from the current stud-
ies on work engagement in the public sector. Then, a systematic review of research in
identifying antecedents of work engagement has been discussed further. Finally, a
560 Review of Public Personnel Administration 43(3)

Table 1. The Search String.

Database Search String

WoS (“Employee* engagement” OR “job engagement” OR “work engagement”)
AND TOPIC: (“public sector” OR “public service” OR “public organi*ation”
OR public servant* OR public employee*)
Scopus TITLE-ABS-KEY ([“employee* engagement” OR “work engagement” OR
“job engagement”) AND (“public service” OR “public sector” OR “public
servant*” OR “public organi*ation” OR “public employee*”])

reflection of research on work engagement was conducted, with limitations and direc-
tions for future studies indicated.

Methodology
Method
The methodology for this systematic review involved four key steps in accordance
with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
(PRISMA); identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion. Different keywords
were used individually and in combination to identify posts (see Table 1).

Research Design and Strategy

Systematic review literature was conducted to promote critical thinking to examine
antecedents of work engagement among public sector employees. The review includes
literature published between January 2016 and December 2020. The latest 5-year rel-
evant articles were selected to identify the research trends and evolution in the last
5 years and address the research gaps in this area. The quality of review is assured
through the availability of comprehensive, up-to-date, and interdisciplinary materials.
Hence two prominent databases, Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus, were used to
search for relevant journal articles, as both are reputable for high-quality and interdis-
ciplinary content. WoS provides an overview of worldwide research findings and cov-
ers vast areas of study related to interdisciplinary social sciences, social issues,
environmental studies, as well as development and planning. WoS also contains
Clarivate Analytics with extensive backfile and citation data, ranking them through
three different measures; citations, papers, and citations per article. The second data-
base used is Scopus, which possesses the largest abstract and citation database, besides
accommodating numerous journals from publishers worldwide. Scopus comprises a
wide range of subjects, including social sciences, sciences, and arts and humanities.
The selection policy and international selection board have been clearly defined to
meet high expectations of research. However, it is important to note that no database
is completely perfect and comprehensive, WoS and Scopus included. Although there
are other databases that also provide relevant articles in this area, the selection of WoS
Zahari and Kaliannan 561

and Scopus was made in this study to ensure that all studies included are from repu-
table and high-quality journals.

Materials. The following section covers all materials utilized within this systematic
review, which include PRISMA, systematic analysis process, resources, inclusion and
exclusion requirements, and abstraction and analysis of the data used in current
research.

PRISMA: Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The
PRISMA framework, developed by Moher et al. (2009), is a published set of guide-
lines to aid systematic literature reviews, critical literature analyses, and meta-anal-
yses, among other types of research. Published guidelines play an important role in
directing authors and providing them with important information to examine and
evaluate the quality and accuracy of a study. The PRISMA tool or framework offers
various methods to systematically search for papers and literature in review-based
studies. PRISMA also focuses on the formulation of inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Systematic quality assessment of selected literature helps determine whether it will be
included or excluded. PRISMA also allows for time-range specification when explor-
ing vast scientific literature within a database, promoting accuracy when searching for
terms relevant to work engagement in the public sector.

Identification. Selecting relevant articles for the present systematic review involved
three main stages. The first stage is identifying keywords, followed by a search process
to identify similar and related terms according to the thesaurus, dictionaries, encyclo-
pedia, and past research. A systematic search for literature on the WoS and Scopus
database via search string was conducted in October 2021 upon identifying relevant
keywords (refer Table 1). Besides work engagement, we include other keywords (i.e.,
job engagement and employee engagement), as these three terms have been used inter-
changeably in work engagement studies. Furthermore, we also include public service
in the search string as public service is part of the public sector. As a result, during the
identification stage, 868 articles were retrieved from both databases.

Screening. The second stage intended to remove duplicate papers, from which 34
articles were excluded. The remaining 834 articles were filtered based on the research-
er’s inclusion and exclusion criteria. This analysis focuses entirely on research papers
due to the fact that research papers are primary sources providing empirical evidence.
Therefore, this systematic literature review implies the exclusion of review papers,
meta-analyses, meta-syntheses, books, and conference proceedings. It should also be
noted that only papers written in English were included in order to avoid any mis-
understanding and translation difficulties. Therefore, the searching efforts excluded
non-English publications and focused articles published in English. The time-range set
was between 2016 and 2020 (5-year duration) to ensure that only recent studies were
selected in this article to determine the most recent trends in work engagement stud-
ies and research gaps. In order to maximize the probability of attaining more relevant
562 Review of Public Personnel Administration 43(3)

Table 2. Review Criteria: Inclusion and Exclusion.

Criterion Eligibility Exclusion

Literature type Journal (research articles) Journals (systematic review, review, meta-
analysis, and meta-synthesis), conference
proceeding, and early access
Language English Non english
Time line Between 2016 and 2020 <2016
(5 years)

articles, this systematic literature review includes all papers published in any subject
area (Table 2).

Eligibility. The third and final stage of PRISMA was eligibility. At this juncture, the
research titles, abstracts, and key contents of the remaining papers were thoroughly
examined to ensure they met the inclusion criteria. From the papers examined, 118
were excluded because they were not empirical studies. Another exclusion factors are
that the studies did not focus on work engagement antecedents in the public sector;
work engagement was not a dependent variable, antecedents did not directly correlate
with work engagement in the studies, and articles have a combined result of public and
other sectors. In addition, some studies have a combined result of two or more depen-
dent variables (work engagement was one of the dependent variables), which resulted
in the findings not being included, leaving 48 papers to be examined (see Figure 1).

Results
A total of 48 articles were analyzed upon examination of abstract, full-text review, and
inclusion criteria as part of the systematic review process. From which all were quanti-
tative studies, with 38 cross-sectional studies (e.g., Ancarani et al.,2021; Gyensare
et al., 2017; Malik & Khan, 2019) while the remaining 10 were longitudinal and time-
lagged studies (e.g., Eldor, 2018; Hernaus et al., 2017; Malik & Khan, 2019). The use
of data collected from multiple sources in a longitudinal design at multiple levels can
reduce common method bias (Favero & Bullock, 2015; Podsakoff et al., 2003) that has
the potential to jeopardize the research findings validity. In this review, public sector
work engagement’s antecedents were divided into five main themes, adapted Bailey
et al.’s (2017) approach in their narrative evidence synthesis method study that grouped
antecedents based on their commonalities in attributes. The five main themes identified
were individual psychological states, experienced job-design-related factors, perceived
leadership and management, individual perceptions of organizational and team factors,
and organizational interventions or activities.
It is also important to note that some articles (18 studies) addressed more than one
theme in their study (see Table 3).
Zahari and Kaliannan 563

Scopus searching records: Web of Science searching records:

Idenficaon

(n = 639) (n = 229)

Records removed (duplicaon):

(n = 34)
Screening

N=668 records were excluded.

(Reviews, meta-analyses, & meta
Screened records
synthesis arcles, books, conference
(n =834) proceeding, non-English, published in
<2016. Not in the field of Social
Science, Management, Business and
Behavioral science.

Records (full-text arcle)

Eligibility

assessed for eligibility Records excluded, with reasons

(n = 166)
(n = 118 )
(Non quantavel studies, non related
to public sector, combined public and
private sector findings, not focusing on
antecedents of work engagement, and
work engagement was not a dependent
Records included in the
variable (DV) in the study.
review
Included

(n = 48)

Figure 1. PRISMA flow diagram.

Geographic analysis of the work engagement studies found most studies were from
Italy, India, China, the United States of America, and Pakistan. Five studies were from
Italy, India, and China. Four articles were from the United States and Pakistan.
Meanwhile, other studies came from various countries; two articles from Netherland,
Finland, South Korea, and Nigeria. Furthermore, one study covered public work
engagement in Ireland, Australia, Greece, Spain, Argentina, Canada, Turkey, Malta,
Croatia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Egypt, and Israel. Overall,
research was conducted in 26 different countries (see Figure 2).
In terms of year of publication, the number of quantitative research in the field of
work engagement has risen dramatically in 2020 compared to previous years. Twenty
564
Table 3. Themes and Subthemes by Author.

Organizational
Author Leadership Job-design related Organization and team Individual intervention
1. Mauno et al. (2016) Transformational Emotional labor, work
leadership ethic feasibility
2. Ugaddan and Park (2017) The quality of Public service
leadership motivation
3. Borst et al. (2019) Perceived red Public service
4. Borst (2018) tape, perceived motivation
autonomy
5. Mostafa and El-Motalib Ethical leadership Work meaning
(2020)
6. Guidetti et al. (2018) Support from Concerns about
supervisor, mastering change
content of
change
7. Malik and Khan (2019) Authentic leadership Positive emotion:
relational
identification
8. Wushe and Shenje (2019) Effective leadership Compensation, Training
incentive program, and career
organizational development
policies, and
procedure
9. Pradhan et al. (2019) Human resource Training
practices

(continued)
 Table 3. (continued)
Organizational
Author Leadership Job-design related Organization and team Individual intervention
10. Halinski and Harrison Supervisor Organization support
(2020) support for development
11. Ancarani et al. (2021) Transformational, Organization climate
transactional, and for change
laisez-faire
12. Meng et al. (2020) Task Perceived
characteristics meaningfulness
13. Idike et al. (2020) Abusive Strength used,
supervision promotion focus
14. Pirzada et al. (2020) Organizational justice Employee silence
15. Tensay and Singh (2020) Human resource Training and
practices development
16. Zhang et al. (2020) Career prospects, Realistic motivations
macro visions
17. Shaheen et al. (2020) Organizational Islamic work ethics
cronyism
18. Almotawa and Shaari Digital capability Reward and recognition Training and
(2020) and workplace development
spirituality,
reward and
recognition

565
566 Review of Public Personnel Administration 43(3)

Zimbabwe 1
Israel 1
Ethiopia 1
Ghana 2
Pakistan 4
Saudi Arabia 1
Nigeria 2
Korea 2
Malaysia 1
China 5
India 5
Egypt 1
Croa 1
Marta 1
Turkey 1
Canada 1
USA 4
Argenna 1
Spain 1
Greece 1
Belgium 2
Finland 2
Australia 1
Netherland 2
Italy 5
Ireland 1

Figure 2. Countries of research studies.

four articles reviewed were published in 2020 (e.g., Ancarani et al., 2021; Brunetto
et al., 2020; Halinski & Harrison, 2020; Rai & Maheshwari, 2021; Uhunoma et al.,
2020), eight articles were published in 2017 (e.g., Borst et al., 2019; Gyensare et al.,
2017; Hernaus et al., 2017; Ugaddan & Park, 2017), and six were published in 2019
(e.g., Malik & Khan, 2019; Pradhan et al., 2019; Obuobisa-Darko, 2020; Wushe &
Shenje, 2019) and 2018 (e.g., Borst, 2018; Eldor, 2018; Mostafa & El-Motalib, 2020)
respectively, Lastly, four articles were published in 2016 (e.g., Conway et al., 2016;
De Simone et al., 2016; Jin & McDonald, 2016) (see Figure 3).

Antecedents of public sector work engagement. Forty-eight studies relevant to the

review were extracted based on the identification, screening, and eligibility stages.
Zahari and Kaliannan 567

2020 24
2019 6
2018 6
2017 8
2016 4

Figure 3. Year of publication.

Each article was analyzed and the antecedents identified were grouped into five main
themes based on commonalities in attributes adapted from Bailey et al. (2017), namely
individual psychological states, experienced job-design-related factors, perceived
leadership and management, individual perceptions of organizational and team fac-
tors, and organizational interventions or activities.
Based on the findings, the Social Exchange Theory (SET) and JD-R were used as
the underpinning theories in most studies reviewed on work engagement. Nineteen
studies utilized SET to conceptualize and operationalize the research constructs (e.g.,
Brunetto et al., 2020; Jin & McDonald, 2016; Rai & Maheshwari, 2021; Pradhan et al.,
2019; Wushe & Shenje, 2019). The selection of SET as the underpinning theory is
based on the assumption that work engagement is influenced by the interaction
between various parties in the organization, such as the employers, leaders, and
employees. The studies hypothesized that employees would be more engaged at work
if a favorable relationship between them and their employers had been established.
Another 18 studies centered on the relationship between job resources, job demands,
and work engagement within the framework of the JD-R (e.g., Ancarani et al., 2021,
Borst, 2018; Borst et al., 2019; Halinski & Harrison, 2020). JD-R posits that antecedents
of work engagement were divided into two categories: job demands and job resources.
Job demands have a negative effect on work engagement. In contrast, job resources have
a positive effect on work engagement by reducing the impact of job demands on work
engagement and, at the same time, increasing work engagement. A wide range of job
resources was examined based on the JD-R theory, including organizational support,
supervisory support, management support, perceived autonomy, perceived leadership,
and training and development. Meanwhile, job demands examined include perceived
high workloads, abusive supervision, organizational cronyism, and workplace incivility.
Studies by Ancarani et al. (2021), Borst et al. (2019), and Borst (2018) examined the
association between job demands (i.e., perceived red tape and organizational climate
for change) and work engagement. Results obtained from the studies were inconclu-
sive. For instance, Borst et al. (2019) found no association between perceived red tape
and work engagement among Dutch public servants. Thus, the result did not align with
the JD-R notion that job demands were supposed to affect work engagement negatively.
However, the study by Idike et al. (2020), in their hierarchical multiple regression anal-
ysis, revealed that employees with a high perception of abusive supervision reported
lower work engagement behavior, which conformed with the JD-R model.
568 Review of Public Personnel Administration 43(3)

Finally, other theories used to explain the recent work engagement studies included
such theories as equity theory, ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO) theory,
transactional theory, and expectancy theory. It is also important to note that some stud-
ies did not identify which theories were employed.

Individual psychological states. Individual psychological states theme encompasses

employees’ constructs, states, conditions, behaviors, and experiences that were found
to be the basis for the development of work engagement framework in many stud-
ies. This theme includes individual’s positive or negative mental states or perceptions
toward their job, organizations, teams, personal strength, and ability. Positive psy-
chological conditions such as motivation, positive emotion, strength used, perceived
meaningfulness, and psychological ownership were found to be positively associated
with engagement (Chai et al., 2020; Malik & Khan, 2019; Meng et al., 2020). On the
other hand, the outcomes of negative individual psychological states such as employee
silence, obsolescence, perceived stress showed a significant and negative relationship
with work engagement (Miranda et al., 2020; Pirzada et al., 2020; Singh & Kumar,
2019). Another negative psychological state, which is challenge stressors, showed a
positive effect on work engagement (Jiang et al., 2020), which contradicts the JD-R
theory that postulates job demands to have a detrimental impact on work engagement.
Of all the individual factors examined, public service motivation (PSM) was the
only factor exclusively related and focused on the public sector. PSM was identified as
an antecedent of work engagement in four of the research papers examined and was
found to have a positive effect on work engagement in every research (e.g., Borst,
2018; Borst et al., 2019; De Simone et al., 2016; Ugaddan & Park, 2017), which was
consistent with the previous research (Bakker, 2015). However, Borst (2018) found
that a dimension of PSM, which is the attraction to public policy, did not have a sig-
nificant effect on work engagement among people-changing organizations (e.g., edu-
cation and health care). Still, it is shown to have a significant positive effect among
people-processing organizations. A possible reason is that public servants who worked
in people-changing organizations perceived their work as their true calling; hence,
they are less attracted to public policy.

Perceived leadership: Leadership style and quality of leaders. Perceived leadership was
found to be among the most significant antecedents of public sector employees’ work
engagement. In particular, attributes of a leader and employee perception toward their
leaders were essential in increasing employee outcomes. Well-respected, trusting lead-
ers who motivate their employees while showing care and concern drive their employ-
ees to reciprocate and contribute their best toward achieving organizational goals.
From this systematic review, 12 studies were found to have focused on leadership,
with 8 studies, in particular, focused on leadership styles. Transformational leadership
style was found as the most studied antecedent of work engagement (four studies).
Other studies (seven studies) addressed other leadership styles: ethical leadership
(three studies), transactional leadership (two studies). Authentic leadership and lais-
sez-faire were addressed by one study respectively. Furthermore, other factors under
Zahari and Kaliannan 569

this theme were the quality of leadership, effective leadership, and development of
leadership were addressed by one study each.
A total of eight studies discussed leadership styles in the public sector that influence
work engagement among public employees. Of these studies, four studies examined
the transformational leadership styles (Ancarani et al., 2021; Gyensare et al., 2017;
Mauno et al., 2016; Obuobisa-Darko, 2020). All studies found a positive association
between transformational leadership and work engagement in the public sector.
According to the findings, leaders who exhibit a transformational leadership style can
maintain a high-quality relationship with their followers, which can increase their
level of engagement and lead toimproved performance. Two studies examined the
relationship between transactional leadership and work engagement in the public sec-
tor. A study by Obuobisa-Darko (2020) found a positive association between transac-
tional leadership and work engagement. However, public leaders who exhibited the
transformational leadership style had a more substantial effect than those who exhib-
ited the transactional leadership style. Another study by Ancarani et al. (2021) found
that contingent reward and management by example (passive), which are the attributes
of transactional leadership, have an insignificant direct effect on work engagement.
However, management by example (Active) indicates a small negative significant
effect on work engagement. The other studies found links between authentic leader-
ship, ethical leadership, laissez-faire, and work engagement in the public sector. A
study by Malik and Khan (2019) found that authentic leadership correlates positively
with work engagement. A positive correlation was also found between ethical leader-
ship and work engagement in the public sector (Mostafa & El-Motalib, 2020).
Furthermore, laissez-faire leadership was found to have an insignificant effect on
work engagement (Ancarani et al., 2021).
Besides leadership style, a few studies addressed different leadership aspects, such
as the quality of leadership and effective leadership. Ugaddan and Park (2017), who
examined the quality of political and administrative leadership on work engagement
among federal United States employees, finding a significant positive relationship
between the two variables. Meanwhile, Wushe and Shenje’s (2019) study also found a
positive relationship between effective leadership and work engagement. In conclu-
sion, all positive leadership behaviors and styles positively affect employee outcomes,
including work engagement, as explained in SET, which posits the paramount rela-
tionship between leaders and employees. On the other hand, the leader’s factor is
considered job resources that reduce job demands and increase work engagement.

Job-design related experiences. Other work engagement researchers were interested in

finding the relationship between job-related experiences and work engagement. As a result,
17 studies reviewed focused on job-related experiences, such as perceived autonomy, per-
ceived organizational support, supervisory support, job characteristics, job re-design, abu-
sive supervisor, organizational cronyism, perceived high workload, and red tapes.
Three studies found a positive association between perceived supervisor support
(including compassion from the supervisor) and work engagement (Eldor, 2018;
Halinski & Harrison, 2020; Jin & McDonald, 2016). Jin and McDonald
570 Review of Public Personnel Administration 43(3)

(2016) indicated that perceived oganizational support positively correlated with work
engagement in the public sector. Job characteristics (Rai & Maheshwari, 2021), job
re-design (Hernaus et al., 2017), and work meaningfulness (Mostafa & El-Motalib,
2020) were discussed in three studies. These factors were also found to positively
influence work engagement in the public sector. A study by Conway et al. (2016)
examined the experience of employees pertaining to performance management and
employee voice. It indicated that the experience of performance management had a
negative association with work engagement and a positive association with employee
exhaustion (the opposite of engagement), respectively. Employees who experienced
performance management showed lower levels of work engagement than those who
did not. Alternatively, in the same study, employee voice experience was found to be
positively related to work engagement in public sector organizations in Ireland.
Negative antecedents under this theme, all of which are considered job demands such
as abusive supervisors, organizational cronyism, perceived heavy workload, and red
tapes, have a negative association with work engagement (Borst, 2018; Idike et al., 2020;
Shaheen et al., 2020; Ugwu & Onyishi, 2020) which is in line with JD-R theory.

Organizational and team factors. At the organizational and team levels, 12 studies
addressed employee perception in various areas such as human resource (HR) prac-
tices, organizational support for development, organization culture, and organizational
justice. According to SET, people make decisions by assessing the costs and rewards
of a relationship or activity and maximizing their reward at the end. As a result, it
is assumed factors that benefit employees have a good effect on work engagement.
Two studies addressed reward, recognition, compensation, and incentive program
(Almotawa & Shaari, 2020; Wushe & Shenje, 2019). Wushe and Shenje (2019) found
a positive correlation between compensation and incentive programs and employee
engagement. However, Almotawa and Shaari (2020) study discovered that incentive
and recognition are negatively and insignificantly associated with employee engage-
ment, which contradicts the SET.
Three studies found organizational justice (including distributive, procedural, and
interactional justice) has a positive and significant effect on work engagement
(Lamprakis et al., 2018; Özer et al., 2017; Pirzada et al., 2020). Lamprakis et al.
(2018) found distributive, procedural, and interactional justice have a positive rela-
tionship with work engagement but at a different degree (strong, mediocre, and
weak). Two studies found a positive correlation between human resource manage-
ment and work engagement (Pradhan et al., 2019; Tensay & Singh, 2020). In addi-
tion, organizational support, organizational culture, and organizational learning
(Halinski & Harrison, 2020; Özer et al., 2017; Uhunoma et al., 2020) also have a
positive effect on work engagement. Relevantly, Ancarani et al. (2021) found two
attributes of organizational climate for change, readiness to change and goal orienta-
tion were positively associated with work engagement in the public sector. On the
other hand, another attribute, operational efficiency, was negatively related to work
engagement. Another antecedent that affected work engagement negatively is work-
place incivility (Alias et al., 2020).
Zahari and Kaliannan 571

Organizational interventions. Organizational intervention is the aspect of work

engagement that has received the least attention in recent studies. Based on the find-
ings, individual perceptions of organizational interventions, such as training and
development programs, were only studied in four research papers. Prior studies found
that training and development programs influence work engagement (Nawaz et al.,
2014; Rana & Chhabra, 2011; Sundaray, 2011). Wushe and Shenje (2019), Pradhan
et al. (2019), and Tensay and Singh (2020) studies found that training and develop-
ment have a significant and positive relationship with work engagement. However,
Almotawa and Shaari (2020) study discovered that training and development nega-
tively and insignificantly affect work engagement.

Bridging it together: Antecedents of public sector work engagement. From the 48

studies examining antecedents of work engagement, the majority (22) studies
focused on individual factors. Within this category, researchers focused on posi-
tive or negative psychological states and behavioral. Positive psychological states
examined in the studies are work meaningfulness, psychological capital, motiva-
tion, relational identification, psychological ownership, and work ethics. Mean-
while, negative psychological states highlighted were perceived stress, employee
silence, obsolescence, and challenge stressor. Job design-related (18), organiza-
tional and team factors (12), and leadership (12) were the other most significant
categories of work engagement antecedents. Of all the studies, only four focused
on how employees responded to organizational interventions such as training or
development programs aimed at boosting work engagement. Given the dominance
of the JD-R framework and SET in the theorization of the work engagement con-
cept, these findings were expected.
The majority of these studies found positive antecedents such as positive psycho-
logical states, positive perceptions of leaders, teams and organizations, job resources,
and organizational intervention are antecedents that have a positive effect on work
engagement. In contrast, negative antecedents, such as negative psychological states,
job demand, bad leadership, and abusive supervision are linked to lower levels of
engagement. However, several studies were found to contradict the JD-R Theory and
SET. For example, job resources (incentive and recognition) were found insignifi-
cantly associated with work engagement in a study by Almotawa and Shaari (2020).
The study also discovered that training and development have a negative and insignifi-
cant association with work engagement. Another study by Borst (2018) found that
attraction to public policy (PSM dimension) did not have a significant effect on work
engagement among people-changing organizations. On the other hand, it was discov-
ered that negative psychological states and job demands do not entirely have a detri-
mental effect on work engagement. Negative psychological states such as emotional
demands and challenge stressors showed a positive effect on work engagement (Jiang
et al., 2020; Martinez et al., 2020), which contradicts the JD-R theory that postulates
that job demand has a negative effect on work engagement. In addition, Borst et al.
(2019) found no association between job demand (perceived red tape) and work
engagement among Dutch public servants.
572 Review of Public Personnel Administration 43(3)

Most studies used a cross-sectional method. Self-report measures were utilized

among 38 studies reviewed, where questions for all the factors discussed were probed
within the same survey, increasing the possibility of common method bias. Causal
inferences related to the findings presented could not be interpreted due to the cross-
sectional nature of the studies. From the findings, only 10 studies used the longitudinal
method or complex model that allowed for causality evaluation. The longitudinal stud-
ies described job resources, Hernaus et al. (2017) indicated a positive influence
between job re-design (job characteristics, task interdependence, workload, task iden-
tity, task significance, and supervisor support) and work engagement. Evidence from
a study by Eldor (2018) found compassion from supervisors to be positively associ-
ated with a sense of work engagement. Malik and Khan (2019) administered question-
naires at varying intervals to avoid common method bias. In the first phase of the
study, participants responded to authentic leadership and engagement. Two months
later during the second phase, participants responded to relational identification.
Whereas 1 week later, in the last phase, participants responded to positive emotions.
The study also found a positive association between authentic leadership and rela-
tional identification with work engagement.
The findings reveal that a majority of 41 studies used the Utrecht Work Engagement
Scale (UWES) developed by Wilmar Schaufeli and Arnold Bakker as an instrument to
determine work engagement. Regardless of the term used to refer to engagement (i.e.,
work engagement, job engagement, or employee engagement), most studies adopted
UWES to measure the construct. Furthermore, it shows that these three different terms
have been used interchangeably in this field of study. Hence, based on the findings,
UWES was found to be a reliable and valid scale to assess academic work engage-
ment. There were also other forms of instrumentation used by additional studies, such
as the Gallup 12-item questionnaire, the work engagement survey and the Chartered
Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) emotional engagement survey.

Discussion
This systematic literature review aimed to gather the latest data on antecedents of
engagement in the public sector. Despite an extensive systematic and iterative search
of the two main databases involved (i.e., Web of Science and Scopus), the probability
of missing out on specific and significant papers cannot be ruled out. Though 166
publications (within the pre-defined quality range) about work engagement were iden-
tified, not all fulfilled the research question. In addition, findings from additional stud-
ies within the related field were included, especially for the discussion and background
segment. Thus, the literature review is inevitably subjective in nature. However, the
analysis represents a well-balanced selection important, prominent studies in the area
courtesy of rigorous systematization. Bias was reduced to a minimum by explicitly
identifying steps required for the review process prior to beginning the review
(Brereton et al., 2007).
The concept of work engagement has been dominated by the Utrecht Group’s frame
of reference. UWES was used as an instrument in most of the articles examined in this
Zahari and Kaliannan 573

review although they were using different terms of work engagement (employee
engagement and job engagement). Thus, findings on antecedents of engagement are
implicitly influenced by the said interpretation of the framework of engagement con-
struct. Furthermore, the rise of several other conceptualizations aside from the heavy
influence of the Utrecht approach leads to a lack of comparability, down to the inter-
pretation of engagement, making it hard to generalize findings.
This systematic literature review paper thoroughly examined antecedents of
engagement to fulfill the research question at hand. Then, findings relevant to anteced-
ent were broken down and analyzed separately before being grouped into themes and
sub-themes. It should be noted, nonetheless, that most studies have generally exam-
ined a number of antecedents and that in certain cases, the antecedents have been
examined within the same study. Based on the result, engagement is often interpreted
as a mediator, or an effect, depending on the emphasis of the study. In view of the
range and complexities involved, in-depth exploration of these holistic models lies
beyond the scope of this review. As mentioned earlier in the article, many studies on
public sector work engagement placed engagement as a mediator of related work atti-
tude factors (in this study; task performance, turnover intention, and job satisfaction),
whereas other studies position engagement as the outcomes.
Nonetheless, it remains unclear if the structures in question are causally related to
work engagement since only a few studies were longitudinal and time-lagged. Most of
the studies were cross-sectional. This systematic review, on the other hand, presents
several implications for practice. The fact that there is compelling research to suggest
that public sector employees who have a high level of engagement are more likely to
contribute to positive individual and organizational outcomes indicate that public
organizations should consider strategies and approaches that would assist in increasing
engagement levels among public sector employees. Although studies suggest several
criteria of engagement antecedents relevant to individual psychological states, leader-
ship, individual factors, job-related, and organizational levels, all of which improve
engagement levels, however, based on the result, most studies only focused on job
resources as antecedents of work engagement.
There are very few studies that emphasize job demand in the public sector and how
it can affect the public sector work engagement level. The intriguing part is that some
findings were against the JD-R assumption that high job demand reduces work engage-
ment. In these studies, job demand was found to affect work engagement in the public
sector positively. Therefore, more job demand factors in the public sector should be
examined to see their effect on work engagement. In addition, future studies should
clarify the relationship between job demands and work engagement in the public
sector.
The majority of mainstream work engagement literature focused on the private sec-
tor. On the other hand, a dearth of studies is undertaken to examine the public sector
antecedents that influence work engagement among public employees. Exploring the
specific public sector antecedents of work engagement is therefore crucial. Furthermore,
it will contribute to understanding work engagement in the public sector to improve
public service delivery. Of all antecedents reviewed, PSM was the only specific public
574 Review of Public Personnel Administration 43(3)

sector antecedent addressed in the work engagement literature. Numerous research

studies have examined and established the significance of PSM as a determinant of
work engagement in the public sector. PSM was found to affect work engagement in
every study analyzed positively (Borst, 2018; Borst et al., 2019; De Simone et al.,
2016; Ugaddan & Park, 2017). Another work engagement antecedent relevant to the
public sector is red tape; nonetheless, it has a detrimental impact on work engagement.
However, while PSM is seen as a resource in the JD-R (Bakker, 2015) and positively
affects work engagement in various public sector studies, it can also be considered a
factor in adding to demands according to studies by Giauque et al. (2012) and
Quratulain and Khan (2015). These studies found that higher levels of PSM exacer-
bated the negative impact of red tape on employees’ negative attitudes and behavior,
and these effects are conveyed through the resigned satisfaction mechanism. As a
result, public sector employees with a high level of PSM may become discouraged and
demoralized when they encounter red tape while attempting to contribute significantly
to the public interest. Therefore, further studies focusing on the indirect effect of PSM
(e.g., PSM as moderating or mediating variable) are needed to add to the body of
knowledge of public sector work engagement.
Furthermore, the study found that most studies reviewed concentrated on one or
two antecedents of work engagement, although various factors can influence work
engagement based on previous findings. Therefore, future research should consider
taking a comprehensive approach that includes every theme of work engagement ante-
cedents rather than focusing on a single theme or subset of antecedents for work
engagement. In addition, based on the review, organizational intervention receives far
less attention than other factors. Therefore more research needs to include organiza-
tional intervention in work engagement studies to establish the findings.
This systematic review paper also carries significant value toward effective public
sector administration on account of the fact that this paper compiled all recent studies
on the scarcely researched antecedents of public sector work engagement. Quantitative
findings from past research are synthesized, based on which discusses contributions to
the public sector offers recommendations to improve public sector work engagement.
The analysis found that individual factors such as positive psychological states,
emotions, motivation toward public service, and employee loyalty positively and
significantly correlate with work engagement in the public sector. This is in line
with prior research that found employees with high motivation toward public ser-
vice remain highly committed to the interest of the public, are willing to sacrifice,
and offer more compassion. They are less likely to be drawn by extrinsic rewards
and are more inclined to intrinsic rewards than private sector employees (Park &
Word, 2012). Employees with high motivation toward public service are more
attracted to work in the public sector as they find it rewarding (Perry & Wise,
1990). The mentioned scenario is parallel to a construct within the work engage-
ment framework introduced by Kahn (1990); meaningfulness. Thus, recruiting
someone with positive psychological states, emotions, behavior, motivation toward
public service (high level of PSM), and loyalty is great for improving public sector
work engagement.
Zahari and Kaliannan 575

Public organizations could also enhance work engagement by improving leadership

skills among public leaders. It can be achieved by recognizing and discerning how
each leadership style contributes to improving engagement among employees in the
public sector. Since positive individual values and high motivations have been identi-
fied as primary contributors in determining engagement levels among public employ-
ees, it is recommended that the public sector organizations improve their recruitment
system and promotion strategies. Recruiting and promoting leaders with positive val-
ues, high motivation, and effective leadership styles are imperative to enhance public
sector work engagement as they are the key enablers of employee engagement
(Chamberlain, 2012) as engaged managers will spend more time and effort engaging
their teams.
Recent studies found that transformational leadership is a leadership style that has
a consistent positive effect on public sector work engagement based on the study by
Ancarani et al. (2021), Gyensare et al. (2017), and Obuobisa-Darko (2020), given a
positive relationship exists between transformational leaders and their followers.
Transformational leadership features include idealized influence, intellectual stimula-
tion, inspirational motivation, and individualized consideration, which help build a
better relationship with subordinates, consequently increasing their will to perform
better and more effectively. Transformational leadership is valuable for public organi-
zations (Moynihan et al., 2012). It emphasizes incorporating employees toward
achieving organizational goals and its ability to transform norms and values among
employees (Ancarani et al., 2021). Transformational leaders offer support and trust
toward their employees, therefore inclined to grant them work autonomy. Individualized
consideration as a characteristic allows leaders to connect with their subordinates,
adapting to their uniqueness and interest while addressing them individually. Hence
satisfying the needs of employees, causing an increase in work engagement and resul-
tantly obtaining desired organizational outcomes. Engaged employees will feel obli-
gated to provide more effort in carrying out assigned tasks while striving for higher
task performance (Obuobisa-Darko, 2020).
Other antecedents related to leadership factors found in this study that positively
correlate with work engagement are supervisor and management support, compassion
from the supervisor, and perceived autonomy. Therefore, to enhance employee engage-
ment in public organizations, public administrators need to necessitate positive and
effective leadership styles (e.g., transformational, ethical, and authentic leaders) as a
requirement for high-level positions in government agencies, as suggested by empiri-
cal evidence.
The cruciality of improving work engagement among public officers cannot be
stressed upon enough; therefore, public administrators should provide appropriate
intervention measures like enhancing employee training and development programs.
Developing effective leadership styles such as transformational, ethical, and authen-
tic leadership styles among public leaders is crucial to improving public sector work
engagement. Public leaders, including middle managers, are essentially the organiza-
tional central nervous system (Guth & Mcmillan, 1986). Equipping them with posi-
tive leadership attributes such as transformational leadership will enable them to be a
576 Review of Public Personnel Administration 43(3)

visionary and people-centric leader. In addition, various theories such as the SET,
JD-R, and the new public sector management model contend that leaders embodying
transformative behavior could result in an increase in individual outcomes.
Researchers found that employees’ positive emotions and values, such as work
motivation, meaningfulness, and work ethics, play an essential role in enhancing pub-
lic employees’ efforts based on the examination. Therefore, public administrators need
to give more focus to developing intervention programs aimed at increasing these
values among public employees. Andrews (2016), in his study, found that public ser-
vice motivation is a dynamic feature that can be enhanced. The role of training, men-
toring programs, and social events are significant to raise positive values among public
employees. Therefore, it is recommended that public administrators provide sufficient
intervention programs to develop positive individual behaviors and values among
public employees to raise their work engagement level.

Limitations and Future Study

Within the evidence base, a set of limitations can be established. First, many studies
focused on fixed time-point, resulting in the inability to determine causality direc-
tion. The cross-sectional approach tends to neglect time lags between variables
because data were obtained at the same time point. It leads to the biased estimation
of effect as the causal relationship between two variables (e.g., the effect of job
resources and task performance on engagement levels) takes time to develop.
Therefore, the relationships found in this type of study are correlational and cannot
be assumed as causal relationships. Despite the variables being related, we cannot
determine which one is the cause and effect in the relationship. However, these
cross-sectional studies justify the immediate effect, which does not appear logical.
In addition, variables from a previous interval that could impact the same variable
being examined at the present interval are not taken into consideration by the cross-
sectional model. For instance, the previous level of engagement may affect the cur-
rent levels of work engagement. Furthermore, cross-sectional studies do not specify
the study length of time, which is questionable as the size of the impact is likely to
be varied at different times.
Second, some studies employed convenience sampling, which is not representative
of all public servants. Thus, a more representative and diversified sample is required
for effective comparison and generalization of the findings. Third, studies based on
self-reported measures raising the probability of common method bias (CMB) and
common method variance (CMV) in the findings. This measurement error negatively
affected the conclusions drawn of the relationship between variables by undermining
the validity of the study. Hence in the absence of longitudinal evidence, the findings of
said studies draw irresolute conclusions. Associations could also attribute to a struc-
tural error if the study uses the same rater or medium, where responses to two con-
structs are recorded by the same person or measurements. Therefore, studies using
objective data or multiple respondents on performance outcomes could be more deci-
sive in determining the actual effects of engagement. Future research should delve
Zahari and Kaliannan 577

deeper into causal relationships through longitudinal or complex methods, despite the
fact that the CMB and CMV were examined for potential bias.
Fourth, the results in most of the studies were not distinguished by demographic
factors such as employment position, job category, level of education, and job scope
since the outcomes may vary depending on the respondent’s education level and job
category. Hence, future research could compare findings across job categories to dis-
cover if there are any major differences.
Fifth, there is a possibility of a “file drawer problem” when numerous results, par-
ticularly negative findings, remain unpublished. In light of the results of this study,
only a few studies were found to have provided negative findings that were in direct
contradiction to the underlying theories.

Conclusion
To summarize, as we present a systematic assessment of work engagement literature
that focuses on contextualization in the public sector, we discovered that despite a lot
of knowledge on relevant and reliable antecedents of engagement, there appears to be
a recurrence of the antecedents being studied and a significant lack of attention to
intervention programs and other relevant factors that may affect work engagement in
the public sector. Therefore, researchers in this area of study must be more critical
when researching antecedents of work engagement to explore different facets that may
significantly influence work engagement in the public sector, such as social factors
(i.e., family, economic, health, and religious), organizational cultural, and political
factors.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of
this article.

ORCID iD
Norfadhillaton Zahari https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5719-8228

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Author Biographies
Norfadhillaton Zahari is a Phd Scholar at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. She serves
in the Malaysian Public Service Department as an Administrative and Diplomatic Officer,
focusing on talent management in the public sector. Her research area include human resource
management, talent management and leadership in the public sector.
Maniam Kaliannan is an Associate Professor of Human Resource Management at the
University of Nottingham Malaysia Business School. His research area include talent manage-
ment, leadership and strategic human resource management. He has published his work in num-
ber of refereed international journals.